A machine, such as an underground mining machine, is designed for conducting mining work, such as cutting rocks. The machine may include a cutter tool for cutting the materials, a material gathering tool for collecting loose materials, and a conveying tool for transferring materials to the back of the machine for transportation via haulers or loading trucks. A rock cutting machine, such as the underground mining machine, is provided with a pair of loading arms or devices for facilitating transfer of materials to a conveying tool.
The loading arms or devices move together from one end of the material gathering tool to another end for directing the cut material towards the conveying tool. The loading arms or devices may rotate, or perform any other type of movement depending on type of drive, shape of the loading arms, and size of cut materials being handled, among others. Bigger lumps of cut material or larger volumes of cut materials may jam the loading arms or devices. In some cases, only one of the loading arms or devices may be jammed but both of them may have to be stopped for clearing the jam, reducing productivity. Further, jamming of the loading arms or devices causes pressure spikes in fluid-driven systems, strain and fatigue in mechanically-driven systems, and heating or other such problems in electrically-driven systems. Over a period of time, the durability of the parts and the productivity of the machine are adversely affected.
G.B. Patent No. 1,116,453 (hereinatter referred to as '453 reference) describes a loader-conveyor machine having two endless chains and a pair of gathering arms for handling materials. The '453 reference includes a reversible drive means for the two endless chains to release jammed materials by reversing direction of movement. However, the '453 reference does not disclose details about any solution for materials jammed in the pair of gathering arms.
Therefore, an improved control system for material gathering mechanism of the machine is required.